Nghe An: Children participating in preventive treatment against tuberculosis increased 5 times

(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An has implemented child tuberculosis management activities with the support of the National Tuberculosis Control Program. The management model and experience in Nghe An will be replicated nationwide.

Dr. Duong Dinh Chinh - Acting Director of the Department of Health spoke at the conference. Photo: Trang Tien

On November 24, the Central Lung Hospital coordinated with Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital to organize a conference to share results and experiences in implementing child tuberculosis management activities among provinces in Nghe An.

At the conference, delegates emphasized that early diagnosis and timely treatment are extremely difficult, because pediatric patients often come to general medical facilities for examination and treatment a long time before coming to anti-tuberculosis facilities, so it is often too late.

The high rate of children with TB reflects the complexity of the current TB epidemic situation. Managing TB in children is one of the major challenges of the TB control program not only in Nghe An but also nationwide.

However, in the past 2 years, Nghe An has implemented child tuberculosis management activities in Vinh city with the support of the National Tuberculosis Control Program. In particular, in the period of 2016-2017, the "Breath of Life" project was implemented in 4 districts of Dien Chau, Nam Dan, Quynh Luu, Yen Thanh, contributing to increasing the number of child tuberculosis cases detected in the whole province.

After nearly 2 years, the number of children participating in preventive treatment against Tuberculosis (INH) in these 4 districts increased 5 times (from 49 children in 2015 to 344 children in September 2017). This is a quite impressive initial number that Nghe An has achieved.

Examination of pediatric patients at Nghe An Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital. Photo courtesy

Children are one of the most vulnerable groups to tuberculosis. It is estimated that up to 90% of children with new tuberculosis cases have not been detected. In 2016 alone, the number of detected child tuberculosis patients accounted for 3.7% of the total number of detected tuberculosis patients.

Nghe An is assessed by the National Tuberculosis Control Program as one of the provinces with a heavy burden of tuberculosis. Every year, Nghe An detects nearly 3,000 cases of tuberculosis of various types, mainly primary tuberculosis; tuberculosis of the lymph nodes, tuberculosis of the pleura; tuberculosis of the bones and joints, and tuberculosis of the spine. This is a potential risk of spreading pathogens to the outside environment.

From the model and experience of managing child tuberculosis in Nghe An, the results of this workshop will be replicated nationwide.

Quynh Trang - Van Tien